2024 has been a weird year for movies. Why has a critically-acclaimed film faced the same fate as a criminally-horrible mess? (We’re looking at you, Joker 2).
On the flip side, an entertainment giant is seeking to right its wrongs with regard to one of its celebrated antagonists. Sounds intriguing right? All this and more in today’s movie news.
“Transformers One” Narrowly Beats “Joker: Folie à Deux” At The Box Office
“The Wild Robot” wasn’t the only animated, robot-focused film to be released this year. But, frankly, if you weren’t a fan of the brotherly feud between Optimus Prime and Megatron before, then you might not have known that “Transformers One” was released shortly thereafter.
That’s right – Hasbro has released what is essentially the origin story of our favourite Autobot and Decepticon. And believe it or not, it is an amazing film and has received a multitude of high praises from critics and audiences alike. It is a movie that is both entertaining and gripping, able to blend intense fight scenes with comic relief perfectly; we highly recommend watching it if you haven’t already.
However, despite its glowing reviews, it is almost tied with “Joker: Folie à Deux” at the box office, with “Transformer One” narrowly edging ahead. But why is that? It has an extremely well-written origin story made with amazing CGI, so why did it only earn US$58.5 million? One major factor would be the target demographic. Another would be a lack of major marketing campaigns.
As mentioned earlier, if you weren’t a major Transformers fan before, this film would have easily gone under the radar — which it did. The reason why it was able to move past DC’s God-forsaken entry is thanks to critics and audience response, nudging it ever closer to the limelight it deserves. But it is too little, too late, as the film has been deemed a financial failure.
However, despite this “setback,” Paramount has been eating well, as their other releases, such as “Mean Girls,” “IF,” “A Quiet Place: Day One,” and more, are able to make up for the losses. The company’s latest project, “Smile 2,” is also sharing the same dilemma as “Transformers One,” where it is also the recipient of positive reviews but is slacking behind in ticket sales. Unfortunately, the psychological horror film is slotted below “Joker: Folie à Deux.” We just hope that this movie will receive a sequel that it absolutely deserves.
Matangi Of “Moana 2” Set To Break Disney’s Villain Curse
For the longest time, Disney has been known for delivering the most memorable animated villains. From The Evil Queen from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” all the way to Mother Gothel from “Tangled” – the entertainment giant has no shortage of memorable antagonists that we just love to hate; they and the conflict they create in their stories are often the reason their films have been so memorable.
However, in recent Disney films, you don’t necessarily remember the villains, let alone the movie, unless you had a special connection with that film (calling out “Frozen” here). For almost 14 years now, Disney and their respective studios have been trying their hardest to capitalise on the twist villain craze – to no avail. There were some successes, such as “Wreck-it-Ralph’s” King Candy, but most, such as King Magnifico (Wish) or Dawn Bellwether (Zootopia) seemed to have been shoehorned into their stories. Which is a nice experiment, to say the least, but it is because of this that we do not see those over-the-top villains that we used to know and love.
However, after years of waiting, we might finally see the return of the beloved archetype in the upcoming “Moana 2” in the form of Matangi. How do we know this? Well, for starters, the directors of the film, Jason Hand, David Derrick Jr., and Dana Ledoux Miller, describe Matangi as a direct contrast to Moana. In an interview with Screen Rant, Miller stated that they wanted an antagonist who is truly disconnected from the protagonist. Someone who opposes the hero in every way, shape, and form. Perhaps someone who is irredeemably evil and wears said evilness like a medal.
King Magnifico, Disney’s most recent villain who flopped, had some cool attributes, in hindsight. A bombastic and powerful villain who might have ushered in the return of the beloved archetype, but unfortunately, failed. Hence, based on early trailers and what we know so far, Matangi is shaping up to be the return to form that we’ve been desperately asking for.
Source: Collider, Screen Rant, The Numbers
